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| Lot 900 |
Huge Three Foot Long 210 Million Year Old Aquatic Reptile. Ichthyosaurs were a fast swimming marine reptile that have been extinct for more than 100 million years and somewhat resembled dolphins in shape. Their bodies were built for speed like a dolphin but their skeleton is very different. The earliest ichthyosaurs were much more reptile-like with longer thinner bodies and smaller fins and paddles. Mixosaurus panzianensis found in the 210 million year old Guaning Formation of Panxian County, China is one of the earliest and the most primitive of ichthyosaurs. It had a long thin body with heavy vertebrae and a straight reptile like tail (not curved like the latest ichthyosaurs). This 39 inch long specimen is more complete than most specimens found with nearly complete vertebrae and tail and with one front and one back paddle. The back paddle is found within the ribcage skull is 8 inches long with more than 20 sharp teeth still present in the jaw and Mixosaurus has a very large 2 x 2 inch eye which may indicate that it swam at somewhat great depths in search of prey. The paddles are just limb bones with many phalanges extending their lenght to created paddles for swimming and steering. This rare and important early ichthyosaur fossil is nicely centered on a 37 x 15 inch black stone matrix that has been backed for stability as the black matrix is somewhat fragile and all the recovered specimens always come out in a number of pieces. There is 10-15 percent restoration on some of the teeth, vertebrae and ribs but overall the specimen is one of the finer fossils available of this rare ichthyosaur. Add $125.00 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $4,000 - 5,000. |
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| Realized $5,000 | ||
